In 1919, in a small town in the province of Berry, France, under the sweltering temperatures of summer heat wave, a war hero is being held prisoner in an abandoned barrack. In front of the door to his prison, a mangy dog barks night and day. Miles from where he is being held, in the French countryside, an intelligent young woman works the land, waiting and hoping. Meanwhile, a judge whose principles have been sorely shaken by the war is travelling to an unknown location to sort out certain affairs of which it is better not to speak. Three characters. In their midst, a dog holds the key both to their futures and to this intriguing plot. Full of poetry and life, The Red Collar is at once a pleasingly straightforward narrative about the human spirit and a profound work about loyalty and love.